Notes From The Underground
emorial Day weekend started in early in SF when the Maritime Hall
Me hosted the still-running, still fine-tuned Motörhead. Packed to
Nashville Pussy blew fire, covered AC/DC, and got the crowd ready
for the coming storm. Lemmy and the boys took the stage and took con-
trol by ripping through a set that covers almost 25 years of material.
Classics like "Metropolis," "Sister," and "Killed by Death" were peppered
in with new jolts like "We Are Motörhead," "Stay Out of Jail," and even
a cover of "God Save the Queen" by The Sex Pistols. The show came
to a close when James Hetfield of Metallica came onstage to join
MURDER CITY DEVILS
parking lot. Heavy chops and licks here, kids... The Distillers' self
titled LP has that shake-your-fist-in-the-air quality that will have you
songwriting that'll leave you contemplating a life in the gutter...And
speaking of classic punk sound and life on the streets, One Man
Army has a new LP on Adeline called Last Word Spoken. More than o
nod to working-class Brit punk (think Stiff Little Fingers, for exam
ple), it's time to make that appointment at the tattoo shop and glue up
your liberty spikes, heathens!...One worthy 7" this month is a release o
an old Weirdos rehearsal. The Weirdos were a killer LA punk band
from way back that wrote some great stuff. This, unfortunately, has ques
tionable sound
does not hav
more keyboard this time around quality and
but the brooding punk anger "Solitary Confinement
is still the same... has its bright spots. There isn't much Weird
the -head in a fiery cut of "Overkill." Hetfield called Lem "the godfather
of metal" and said we should all be glad that someone like this is alive to
keep it legit. All hail Motörhead. -Rusty Trawler...Sub Pop, Seattle's
label that brought the world "grunge" and may never live it down, is still
churning out "indie rock," which appeals to shoegazers and others lack-
ing self-confidence. But they have also continued to put out some amaz-
ing punk bands throughout their history. This month presents us with
three fine examples. First up are The Murder City Devils. They have
just released their third LP, In Name and Blood, and these guys and gal
have not let up. A little more keyboard this time around, but the brood-
ing punk anger is still the same. The promo I got is an "enhanced CD"
that's got a little multimedia gadgetry, but I don't know if they all come
like that. Computer nerds will be after that one, but fuck it, the music is
what it's all about. Still one of the best live bands playing, so go see
them play. The second is The Makers' Rock Star God. These guys
from Eastern Washington have been putting out damn fine garage
punk for years, although their previous LP, Psychopathia Sexualis, had
some scratching their heads. Had they gone unforgiveably wuss-core?
This record should dispel the nonbelievers. Chock full of rock, with more
than a slight tinge of rock-star attitude and some genuinely '70s-style
funky songwriting, these guys are back in the game. The third release is
a Gluecifer LP, Get the Horn. Punk rock and roll and definitely rooted
in 1970s dirthead rock, they'll take you back to the coliseum show that
you had to sneak out of your house to see, with the bottle of JD under
your coat that would eventually leave you puking your guts out in the
on it, but nonetheles
stuff out there anymore, so it's definitely
worth checking out...The next worthy 7" is from The
Budget Girls, a couple of dirty-minded, foul-mouthed
lasses from Jolly Ol', with some connections to Thee
Headcoats characters. The A-side of their new 7" is a sul
try ode to a protein-enhanced soup (wink wink), and the b-si
is a couple of swinging, up-tempo numbers about, what els
men. Naughty, naughty girls...Girls definitely do not have
monopoly on naughty, however, and Andre Williams is
dirty old man. 2 Live Crew have nothin' on this agin
crooner, who was pretty underground in his youth because
refused to tone down his act. He was "re-discovered" a co
ple of years back and has been touring and putting out records a
knocking back the Jim Beam ever since. The songs today aren't as ro
as they'd be 40 years ago, but he's got some great people playing
them (Jon Spencer, Mick Collins, The Countdowns, Th
Compulsive Gamblers) and he's a kick to see live. The record
called Andre Williams is the Black Godfather. Believe it... Estrus Recor
has been putting out a few of their records on extra-thick vinyl a
charging and arm and a leg for them. Whether or not this strategy
work is anyone's guess, but the first was the second Fireballs
Freedom LP, which was worth the price. The second in the series
The Monkeywrench's second LP (maybe it has to do with the recor
being the bands' sophomore releases?). Anyway, this one is worth i
price as well. The Monkeywrench is ex-Big Boy Tim Kerr's brainchi
continuing in his counter-conspiratorial music movement, and featur
Kerr, Tom Price, Mark Arm, Steve Turner, and Martin Bland
cranking out the blues. Are you a Young Lion?... Finally, two brand
spankin' new releases reach my desk just before deadline, and coin-
cidentally both include members of The Revelators (RIP). The firs
is The Horrors' self-titled LP on In the Red. It's got a real noisy
fucked up sound, reminiscent of The Gories at their best. The seco
is The Hard Feelings, who, surprise surprise, play some no
(although a little less so) punk rock with a slight sorta rockabilly sou
Both are fine records, continuing the fine family of sound recordings
off by The Revelators. Until next month.
GO BIG
AND
EAT IT.
Nestle
Butter
-Wez Lund
BITE MY BUTTERFINGER!
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